


Spellbound

by wanderingbarks



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Aromatherapist AU, Doctor Ren, Doctor/Patient, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Magic Realism, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-06-21 10:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15555366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingbarks/pseuds/wanderingbarks
Summary: Ever since she was born, Rey had special - one might even call them magical - healing powers. For a few years, Rey has been running the island’s favourite shop, The Lavender Nook, and providing the town’s people with essential oils, herbal teas and aromatherapy massages. Indeed, many townsfolk came to her with their ails, whether they be physical or emotional. But when a new doctor moves to town, Dr Kylo Ren, he is far from approving of Rey’s alternative medicinal practices and tries to expose her.





	1. Summer Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the wonderful and talented [PurdyRaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurdyRaven/profile) for being my beta for this work!
> 
> This story is very (and I mean very) loosely based off Good Witch (basically the opening scene but other than that completely different).

The heavy drops of rain from the roof’s gutter outside the window echoed the sound of chamomile oil dripping into a flask. It was only half five in the afternoon, but there was a thick blanket of dark clouds that masked the remaining daylight, transforming it into a gloomy twilight hue. Etta James was singing softly from the old vinyl player in the corner and occasionally, Rey would look up from her wooden worktop to watch the crashing waves half a mile beyond her house.

Skyloch’s weather was often temperamental what with being in the North Sea. Yet, this summer had been the warmest one so far, that was, until this morning when torrential rain hit the island and it was back to its usual bleak forecast.

It certainly wasn’t cold enough yet to light up the fireplace but not dry enough to remain outside. So, she decided to spend her Sunday afternoon indoors in her prep room distilling chamomile oil and making new batches of sleep cream, which needed restocking.

As she hummed along to the music, Rey heard a low growl beside her.

Swivelling on her stool, she turned to Rover. He had been fast asleep for the last hour or so, but now he lifted his head towards the window.

“Rover?” she said to the husky, but he looked at her blankly and then lay his head back down on the rug.

When Rey turned again to the window, she saw a large wave crash against the shore, making a roaring sound as it collided against the rocks.

“Just the waves,” she reassured him.

She turned back to her worktop and began measuring out the ratios of cream and mixing the oils together according to her revised recipe. The soothing scent from the distilling chamomile made her calm and sleepy.

Soon however, her tranquillity was pierced by Rover’s sudden, loud barks at the window.

“Rover!” His barks made her jump out of her skin.

Rover then jumped up at the window ledge to peer out, barking even louder.

“Down!” she said, but it was too late, he was already in his territorial guard mode with his fur spiking up and barks that deafened her commands.

She tried to look out the window to see what he was barking at, but it was still raining heavily, and the mist didn’t help with visibility. Then, Rover jumped off the ledge and hurried to the kitchen, continuing to bark.

Switching off the heating plate of the distiller, Rey followed him to the other side of the house.

“What is it, bud?” she whispered. “Do you need to go out?”

Rover then began scratching at the front door and eventually, Rey decided to let him out; he would only continue barking if she didn’t.

As soon as the door opened, he sprinted past her. He led her beyond her surrounding garden and sat waiting for her at the end of her drive.

 _Why is he acting so weird?_ Rey pondered to herself. He was usually quiet at this hour, especially since he went out an hour ago and had already been fed. There was no one around either. The post office down the round was closed, the Nelsons were on holiday and the house opposite was still empty. Although, Finn had mentioned that there would be a new owner moving into the empty house sometime this week, something about a new doctor. Rey hadn’t even realised that Dr Smith had left town, but then again, she had never needed an appointment with him in the two years she’s lived on the island.

Rey got her umbrella from the stand and closed the front door behind her. It was pouring heavily outside, and she thought about how she would have to dry Rover from all the rain afterwards.

“Rover! Here, bud! Come and stay in the garden,” she called to him, but he wouldn’t budge. Rey rolled her eyes and made her way over to him. When she got closer to him, he wagged his tale and trotted on. She rarely felt the need to put him on a lead as there weren’t many cars around and he could never get very far; after all, she could walk from one side of the island to the other in just under an hour.

The street lamp ahead was turned on even though it was a while till sunset and she could see a moving figure near the house opposite.

 _Who was that?_ Rey hoped it wasn’t someone trying to break into the empty house, but maybe Rover would scare them off if it was a thief. There wouldn’t be much for them to steal anyway since it had been empty for two months.

She heard a car door slam and lock. A silhouette of a man without an umbrella rushed to the porched entrance of the house. Rover began barking again ahead of Rey and charged towards the empty house.

“ROVER! Crap…” Rey chased after him in the rain, praying that she wouldn’t slip on the wet ground.

Too late; Rover had already found the man near the house and was jumping up at him. Rey caught up and tugged her dog by the collar to get him away from the man.

“I’m so sorry!” Rey said, looking up at the stranger.

He was a tall man; probably around thirty years old, with black and very wet hair. His clothes were wet too, and he began scrubbing at the top of his thigh where Rover jumped up at him. Kind of pointless, Rey thought, since his shirt and trousers were completely soaked by the rain anyway. She noticed that the man was wearing gloves – _in August._

“Try to control your dog next time,” the stranger grumbled at Rey.

“Sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into him this evening,” she tried to apologise again, but the man’s expression didn’t soften.

“It seems everything is off with this town. I can’t even unlock this stupid key dispenser. The realtor gave me the wrong code.”

Rey squinted at the door and saw a small box next to it with numbered keys.

“I doubt Finn would do that, he’s a very thorough estate agent. Maybe you should try once more?”

The stranger shook his head, “I’ve tried about a dozen times. 3811.”

Rey let go of Rover since he had calmed down now and moved past the man to work on the lock.

“I really don’t think you can help-” the man said, but after a few seconds of fumbling, there was a definitive click and Rey turned back to him.

“Is this your key?” she said, holding it up in front of him.

Warily taking the key from her with his gloved hand, the man frowned at her, “How did you do that?”

“Magic,” Rey said, flashing him a smug smile. The man remained baffled. She had to stop herself from smirking further at his dumbfounded expression. “Actually… you have to press the reset button before adding the code,” she stated matter-of-factly.

The man was silent, still staring at her.

“I see you managed to drive here before the tide comes in,” she said, looking at his car, then she turned back to him, smiling. “I’m Rey, your new neighbour. Welcome to Skyloch,” she offered her hand to him while she held her umbrella with the other. When he didn’t reply or shake her hand, Rey drew it back and prompted him: “And you are…?”

“Dr Kylo Ren,” the man muttered, nodding to her reservedly.

_So, he was the town’s new doctor._

He then turned to the door, unlocking it with his newly acquired key. Once the door was open he looked back at her briefly, uttering, “See you around.”

And before Rey could reply, he walked in and the door slammed shut behind him.

 _Charming_ , she thought, _could have at least said thanks_.

Rey remained standing under the porch roof for a moment, still staring at the door.

There was something odd about her new neighbour, but Rey couldn’t figure out what it was, and it bothered her. She was skilled at reading people; she could taste their emotions on her tongue. It was what made her so good at her job. Yet, for the first time ever, she sensed nothing.

Rey shook herself out of her perplexity and turned back to Rover. “Come on, rascal, let’s get you home and dry.”


	2. Red Dawn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks as always to the wonderful [PurdyRaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurdyRaven/profile) for being my beta.
> 
> Highly recommend listening to this "Magical Tearoom Ambience" video in the background as you read this - it will make you feel like you're in Rey's shop: [Tearoom Ambience](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NWABrC0kOI)

The next morning, Rey woke up slightly earlier than usual with a lingering headache. Stumbling down to the kitchen as quietly as she could so as not to rouse Rover, Rey put the kettle on. The rain from last night had ceased and there was a cooler atmosphere in the air after the dewfall, so she decided to make a bowl of steaming porridge with a dollop of raspberry jam. After taking her first sip of tea and a spoonful of porridge, her headache was already subsiding, and Rey sighed into her mug in relief.

After breakfast, Rey changed out of her pyjamas and took Rover out for his morning walk. There was a large stretch of grass between her house and the beach where she took him to play ball. She cleaned up after him and then squeaked his favourite tennis ball (it had to be a _squeaky_ tennis ball otherwise he wouldn’t retrieve it) and threw it until he was practically dragging his tongue on the floor. They went back inside so she could feed him his first portion of the day.  

As Rover scoffed his kibble down, Rey gathered the pots of sleep cream and chamomile oil she made the night before and stacked them into a box one by one. Carrying it down the stairs as carefully as she could, she called for Rover, grabbed her still-wet umbrella from the porch, and headed with him towards her shop in the town centre.

The inside of The Lavender Nook was dark, and Rey opened the curtains of the bay windows to let the early morning light in.

Rover trotted over to his bed on one of the bay windows, circling around it until finally settling down in his favourite spot. He could keep watch from there.

It was still grey outside, but the sun was beginning to peek through the breaks in the clouds creating specks of red across the sky. Rey lit some scented candles on the other bay window to add some more light to the silvery hue of the daylight. She then unpacked her box of creams and oils and added them to the rest of the stock on the shelf.

As she was stacking the pots, Rey tasted tiredness and coffee on her tongue. The shop doorbell rang, and the door creaked open.

“Morning Finn,” she said without looking to see who it was. She turned towards the door and smiled at her friend. He was frowning at Rey.

“How do you _always_ do that?” Finn replied.

Rey shrugged, smiling at him, “Lucky guess. Tea?”

“Please, I need all the energy I can get today.”

“Rough night?” she said as she got up to flick the kettle on behind the counter.

Finn propped himself up, sitting next to the cash register on the counter and sighed. “Yeah, I didn’t sleep much last night. I don’t know why. I had to down about a litre of coffee this morning just so I could remember my own _name_.”

Rey picked up a small bottle of chamomile oil from the box and handed it to him, “Here, this might help with the insomnia. I made it last night.”

Finn hesitated for a moment and then took it. “You sure? Here let me…” he said as he reached for his wallet in his back pocket.

“Don’t even think about it,” Rey said, lifting an adamant brow and pointing a finger.

“What? Everyone else gets to pay, why can’t I?”

“I still owe you for that crab sandwich the other day at the cafe.”

“ _Fine_ , at least let me pay for the tea.”

Rey rolled her eyes as Finn placed some coins in the ‘Tea Money’ jar that was next to him on the counter before Rey could verbally object.

“You’re stubborn, you know that?” she said, pouring the hot water from the kettle into a teapot.

Finn smirked at her, “So are you.”

“Anyway, aren’t you supposed to be at work right now?” Rey got a tea cosy from a drawer which had dog paws embroidered on it and placed it over the pot. 

“Connix is covering the early shift since I did last night’s. We had to flip for it.”

Rey chuckled, “Who’s the lucky tenant?”

Finn reached for a chocolate digestive behind the counter and spoke between munches, “You know that new doctor I told you about the other week?”

Rey took a biscuit too and dunked it in her tea, “Dr Ren is it?”

“Yeah… did you meet him already?”

Rey nodded. “It was kind of embarrassing actually… Last night Rover couldn’t stop barking at him and I had to _chase_ after him,” she scrunched her eyes at the fresh memory.

“I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was.”

“It _was_ ,” Rey said so assertively that crumbs almost fell out of her mouth. Finn laughed and gave her a tissue from the box beside him.

“Don’t fret over it,” he began, “The guy is kind of weird anyway.”

Rey remembered the strange sensation she felt at her interaction with him; or, more specifically, it was the lack of sensation that was strange. There was no emotion or flavour on her tongue, which she always felt when someone was in her proximity. Sometimes if she concentrated hard enough, Rey could even pick up on other people’s thoughts and memories, but that was rare. Rey sipped her hot tea slowly, until eventually, curiosity got the best of her.

“In what way is he weird?” she asked.

Finn contemplated for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t know… he’s just kind of… _intimidating_. He looks like he belongs in the Addams family or something.”

Rey tried not to giggle and spill her tea.

Finn downed the rest of his tea and looked at his watch, “Anyway, I should get back and see if Connix is surviving with Gomez Addams.”

“Have fun,” Rey called as the door swung shut behind Finn. She walked towards the entrance to her shop and turned the sign in the window to _Open_. 

*

Rey was on her feet for the rest of the morning. She had a long list of products to package that various clients had ordered. Most of the items were already in stock but there were a few she needed to make, like Mrs Bradshaw’s allergy tea blend and an anti-inflammatory cream for the postman’s knee. Some customers came by to browse and when Rey’s first aromatherapy massage appointment came, she left the till to her assistant, Mia, while she gave her first client a back massage.

Things quietened down again after midday and Mia went home for her lunch break. A few minutes after Rey turned the shop’s sign to _Closed_ , there was a knock on the window of the door.

It was Mrs Bradshaw; she had phoned early this morning to ask if she could pick up her allergy tea before lunch, but she hadn’t turned up until now.

Rey unlocked the door for her.

“Hello, Mrs Bradshaw,” she said, motioning for her to come in the shop.

Mrs Bradshaw was a petite lady in her fifties and her strong perfume always wafted around her. Rey could taste cinnamon and stress on her tongue.

“Terribly sorry for being so late. I know you’re closed for lunch, but you wouldn’t mind if I picked up my order now, would you?”

Rey always had an admiration for the way Mrs Bradshaw managed to keep her hair so tidy in neat curls. But today she noticed that her hair was a little dishevelled. She tried not to focus too much on the flavour of Mrs Bradshaw’s stress on her tongue or her tousled hair. After all, it was still neater than Rey’s own hair, which always seemed to have had the odd strand or five poking out of her buns. Instead, Rey nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Of course not. I’ll just go and find it here,” Rey climbed her mini ladder and searched the top shelves for her recent orders.

Mrs Bradshaw sighed in relief, “You’re a star! I planned to come earlier, but this new doctor is a handful let me tell you. When it was Dr Smith, I knew him for twenty years and he and I had our routines. But _now_ , everything has changed …” she muttered almost forgetting that she was blabbing to someone else and not just herself.

Rey found her order in the ‘B’ section of the order shelf and climbed down the wooden ladder with the paper bag of the tea blend she prepared earlier this morning.

“I’m sure you’ll get used to him soon,” Rey said encouragingly.

“I don’t know…” Mrs Bradshaw said. She handed Rey her money in exchange for the paper bag of her allergy tea.

Rey frowned, “Is he not a good doctor?” She walked behind the counter and placed the money into the cash register.

“Oh no, he is far more competent than Dr Smith. We all know how Smith lost his bearings just before retiring. But that’s the problem, you see. I worked as Dr Smith’s receptionist for twenty years and I always knew how to keep him in check. Dr Ren barely says a word to me, doesn’t even _smile_. And now he wants me to digitalise a whole new filing system and do all this…” Mrs Bradshaw gestured dismissively, “…new stuff…” She sighed.

“Well, at least it will keep me on my toes,” she chuckled quietly. “Anyway, I’ve already kept you long enough. I suppose I’ll see you at the flower festival this weekend, shall I?”

“Yes, I’ll see you then,” Rey said, walking Mrs Bradshaw to the door. “Good luck with the new doctor.”

*

Soon after Rey finished her lunch and took Rover out for a walk, she opened the shop up again for the afternoon.

Everyone in her shop that day seemed to be gossiping or muttering about this new doctor in town. After her third client mentioned his name, Rey wondered how long the novelty would last on the town’s grapevine. She was relieved that by the end of the working day, the topics seemed to shift towards the flower festival.

At four o’clock, Rey dismissed her assistant earlier than closing time since she had finished with her last massage client and decided to watch the shop for the afternoon.

When it reached half five, Rey switched the sign to _Closed_ again and gathered her things from the aromatherapy room in the back.

“Almost home time, buddy,” she said to Rover as she came back in to the main area of the shop. He looked up from his napping position by the bay window and wagged his tail at her. He knew Rey’s routine well and also knew that the word “home time” was synonymous with dinner.

As Rey locked the cash register, she saw something in the corner of her eye outside. She looked up from the counter.

Her eyes gazed at the dark figure who seemed to be approaching from the distance. As the figure came closer into view, Rey recognised the man as her new neighbour, Dr Ren.

He had the same gloomy expression about him from the night before.

_What was he doing here?_

Rey nearly jumped out of her own skin when Rover started barking at him.

“Shh!” Rey called to her dog, “Roves! He’s just the new neighbour.”

Part of her was hoping he was headed to the shop next door, but he had already caught her eye and it was clear he was headed over to her. Rover’s barks were ever so loud and unmistakable; there was no hiding from the man now.

He knocked on the door and Rey walked over to it warily. It took her longer than she hoped to unlock all the latches. She was expecting to taste impatience or irritability on her tongue, but nothing came.

“Hi?” Rey muttered.

The man didn’t even greet Rey but passed her into the shop. Rover growled from his bed as soon as the doctor stepped into the room. Rey closed the door behind him.

“Sorry about the barking,” she said, motioning to Rover to quieten down. She took a small chew out of her back pocket and gave it to her dog so he would busy himself with it.

“Did you give this to Mrs Bradshaw?” Dr Ren asked, holding up a paper bag. He seemed slightly out of breath. He was wearing a white doctor’s coat and his hands were covered but this time with latex gloves instead of black leather ones. Now that he was wearing white, Rey observed that his hair and eyes weren’t as black as she originally thought, but a rich, dark brown. Nevertheless, he still looked as brooding as the other night.

“Uh, yes?” Rey raised a brow at the question. She moved her tongue around in her mouth; still no emotion or flavour. Perhaps if she could just concentrate hard enough on his presence…

Dr Ren flexed his jaw, “This is not medicine.”

Rey frowned at his sudden hostility. “I know it’s not,” she replied.

Dr Ren was as tall and rigid as a statue. Rey felt smaller than ever. He looked down at her and Rey felt self-conscious about the big oil stain on her overall from earlier, but she tried not to blush.

“Then what is it?”

Rey sighed, “It’s a tea blend to help her with her pollen allergies. She’s been coming to me for years…” she tried to explain but was cut off.

“So, _medicine_ then?” His dark gaze was intense; Rey had to look away at the ground every so often.

“Is this what you sell here?” he said, walking around the periphery of her shop. He contemplated the products on the shelves. “Fake medicine?”

Rey was beginning to become impatient at his rudeness. “It’s a _natural remedy_ ,” she emphasised. “I use natural ingredients to help people where I can. I’m aware of the limitations. I’m a trained aromatherapist…”

Dr Ren shook his head. “It doesn’t work.”

“How do you know?”

“From eight years of medical school,” he said as he turned back to her after observing the shelves.

“Have you _tried_ it?”

“I don’t need to,” he answered.

“Well I have, and it’s worked for me and my clients for years. I _know_ I’m not a doctor. I just try to help people where I can.”

Dr Ren stepped forward. “People don’t need your help. You should leave it to medical professionals to treat people of illnesses. You could be putting them in danger.”

Rey lifted her chin up to him and stared at him squarely. “I’m not putting anyone in danger. And if you don’t mind, I’d quite like to lock up and get home soon.”

Suddenly, Dr Ren’s face softened but he was still staring at her. “Are you registered with me?” he asked.

Rey frowned again, “What?”

“You’re not on my medical registry. Who’s your GP if you’re not registered in Skyloch?”

“I… I don’t have a GP,” she muttered looking at the ground. She really didn’t want to explain why she never signed up for a doctor right at this moment. Not to him, anyway.

Dr Ren pursed his lips as he moved closer to see into her left eye, “Your eye is bloodshot,” he said. For a moment, he remained silent as he lowered his head to hers to look at the symptom. He gently placed a thumb under her eye to look at the lower eyelid. “See me for a check-up tomorrow morning.”

Before Rey could come to her senses again and protest, the bell clanked, and Dr Ren had left the shop. Rover looked up from his chew and tilted his head towards the fading shadow in the window.

Rey turned to the small mirror that was hanging in the corner of the room and sure enough, she had a bright red eye.

_Impossible_ , she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is long overdue as I had a spell of writer's block and then later I had to rewrite the whole chapter again but I got there in the end (with the help of my fantastic beta)! Chapter updates will be a little slower than WIC were but will still try to update when I can. Hope you enjoy the story so far! Let me know what you thought in the comments, feedback is highly appreciated.
> 
> Hope you have a great week :)

**Author's Note:**

> [Spellbound Pinterest Board](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/wanderingbarks/spellbound-fic/)


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